Supplemental
by Mikkilynn
Summary: Tag to the HiveLost Boys...  Rodney's over the enzyme... or is he?  Just a little whumper...
1. Chapter 1

Supplemental

A sort of Tag to Lost Boys and the Hive

Thanks to ga unicorn for the wonderful and patient beta. All other mistakes are mine. Yeah, I know they don't belong to me… g

Part One

_Rodney could feel it surging through his veins. Adrenaline rushed alongside the enzyme as he battled the men instructed to keep him captive. _

_Wham!_

_One after another he conquered each of Ford's goons. Rodney recorded it as a series of still pictures in his mind. Later, he would remember them and tell everyone what he had done. How he, Rodney McKay, again saved the day._

_The crystals._

_The whole point was to retrieve the crystals for the DHD. He searched frantically. Time was not on his side. There. Opening a drawer he saw them, gathered them into his hands, and rushed towards the door. He yanked it open._

_His eyes bulged at the sight before him. A wraith loomed in the doorway, his open hand raised in readiness to strike._

_"I've come for my enzyme."_

_The alien's hand plunged deep into Rodney's chest._

_Pain exploded. It felt as if the creature was suctioning all his life out of his chest. Rodney caught sight of his hand, his arm, the skin shriveling up. He cried out, realizing one fact:_

_He, Rodney McKay, smartest man in two galaxies, was about to die._

Rodney's eyes flew open. His breaths came in short bursts. Sitting up in bed, he pulled at the sweat laden jacket that clung to his body and let the cooler air from the ventilation blow over him. Beneath him, the blankets were rumpled but otherwise untouched. He tried frantically to remember why he'd come to bed like this but the memory didn't appear to exist.

Still only half awake he scanned the darkened room searching for anything to tether him to reality.

The clock.

Rodney sighed, his body sagging with relief. 0530 hour. Then he realized what that time actually meant. Today he had scheduled their monthly meeting among the science personnel to begin at 0600 hours. Normally, Rodney liked to schedule them early. But today it was just too early.

He wearily dragged himself from bed grumbling the entire time as he showered and dressed. At this rate he wouldn't even have time enough for a cup of coffee. And right now Rodney desperately needed, at the very minimum, two cups. He yawned once more, scrubbed a hand over his face and wished this feeling of utter exhaustion would leave.

Carson had warned him that this could happen. The effects of the adrenaline that kept him going after the enzyme wore off would only last so long. And unfortunately it appeared Carson was correct.

Limbs barely responding to his commands, Rodney made his way to the meeting. "Someone had better have started a fresh pot of coffee," he mumbled to himself.

On the way, he passed two people jogging in the opposite direction and wondered at the sudden increase in enthusiasm for exercise. Sheppard's marines were always doing the physical stuff anyway, but recently the science and support staff seemed to have developed an excess of energy too. Rodney scowled but wished for a moment that he could have some of whatever they had found. It certainly had to beat the levels of exhaustion he was feeling now.

Standing in the doorway of the empty conference room Rodney twisted his wrist to check the time on his watch. Where was everyone? That was the whole point of calling a meeting: to have them attend. Was his staff so incompetent that they couldn't even get to a meeting on time? Even Zelenka hadn't bothered to show.

He glanced down and checked the scheduler on his tablet once more. There it was. Meeting: 0600 hours. Frustrated, he lifted a hand to his comm..

"Zelenka, this is McKay."

"Zelenka here."

It surprised him, angered him that Radek didn't even seem apologetic. "Where are you?" he demanded.

"In Dr. Weir's office. What is it you need?"

Rodney shut off the comm.. and hurried up the stairs and across the catwalk before barging into Elizabeth's office.

The two, one on either side of the desk, looked up in surprise to see him.

"Where is everyone?"

Radek adjusted his glasses. "Everyone?"

Rodney felt as if he had just stepped into the twilight zone. Both Elizabeth and Radek stared back at him, genuinely confused.

"I called a meeting for 0600 hours. You were supposed to be there." He pointed in the direction of their general meeting room.

Radek shook his head. "Rodney, you sent an email canceling that meeting."

"I did?" He searched his mind for any memory. Again, nothing.

Elizabeth rose from her seat behind the desk. "Are you all right?"

Rodney waved a hand in the air. "Yes, yes of course. I did. I guess that goes to show you what missing that first cup of coffee will do to you."

Radek nodded. "I imagine with you, Rodney, there is some truth to that."

"Well, I guess I better go find that cup." He turned to leave, acting as though he were searching for some important piece of data on his tablet, when in truth he had no idea what it even displayed at the moment or if the device was even still on.

"Don't forget our own meeting later this morning. 0800 hours," she called out to him.

"Uhm… of course."

Minutes later, Rodney paused in the doorway to the mess. The clanking of silverware on trays, the scraping of chairs on the floor as they scooted out from under the table, the seemingly incessant talking made him hesitate. His head was beginning to pound in rhythm to the sounds around him.

Someone looked up from one of the tables and stared right at him. Then another. And another. And he knew what all of them were thinking: Rodney McKay was loosing it.

He decided to bypass the mess. For once in his life he could wait on the coffee.

oooOooo

As soon as he entered his lab he pulled up a stool and powered up his laptop. He had to know for sure. Opening his email he ignored the newer messages for the moment and accessed his sent folder. Sure enough, there it was in all caps: ATTN: MEETING POSTPONED.

He squeezed his eyes shut, pinched the bridge of his nose and slumped down on the stool. Why couldn't he remember? And why was he so exhausted even though he had slept for what… at least twelve hours last night? It puzzled him, and there was nothing worse than a puzzle he couldn't solve.

"Dr. McKay?"

Rodney jerked rigidly upright. Dr. Klisen, one of the science team who worked closely with Dr. Kavanaugh, stood next to him, brow creased with concern.

It seemed that was the only expression Rodney inspired anymore.

"Dr. Klisen," he replied stiffly. He glanced back at the laptop. "I was going through reports yesterday and noticed that I hadn't gotten your report on the newest device acquisition from your mission with your team last week."

The man appeared contrite, embarrassed even, as he brought his hand to his forehead. Klisen was a part of one of the secondary teams that gated off world. "I'm sorry about that. I'm afraid with all the recent activity in the city I thought I had already sent it." Klisen stopped for a moment, thinking. "In fact, I'm sure I sent it."

"Yes, well if you had sent it, then I'm sure I would not be requesting it right now, now would I?" Rodney sighed deeply. Finally, he said, "Just resend it."

"Of course." Dr. Klisen turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. "I was on my way to get a cup of coffee. Can I get you one?"

McKay's eyes brightened but he refused to appear too grateful. Instead he turned back to the screen, scrolling down, intent on finding some information on the computer. "Sure. Thanks."

As soon as Klisen had left, McKay leaned forward and checked on his files. Nothing. So he had been right. Klisen hadn't sent it. Just in case, he did a search on the document.

There it was. He had deleted it himself. But why? And when?

He checked for the deletion time. It had been yesterday around the time he went to lay down. Just how tired had he been? Typing in the commands, he told the computer to restore it.

_File data corrupt. __Cannot restore document._

Corrupt? Why would it be corrupt? Pulling his stool closer, Rodney accepted the cup of coffee that Klisen set next to his desk, without so much as a nod of appreciation. He was lost in the computer. He needed an answer.

oooOooo

"I figured you'd be down here," the voice said from behind.

Rodney jumped. "Do you mind? You almost gave me a heart attack and after my recent experience with the enzyme, I'm a little reticent to endanger my health for awhile."

Sheppard grinned. "You'll be all right."

Rodney scowled at him. "So did you acquire a license to practice medicine since our last mission?"

"You'd be surprised what I've picked up all the times I've been in the infirmary."

"Yes, well, we already have one witchdoctor practicing his voodoo here. You'd do well to stick with piloting." Rodney turned back to his laptop, hoping Sheppard would take the hint and let him work.

"Well, seeing as how I have your attention now," Sheppard drawled, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Fine," was his quick, if not somewhat stilted response.

Sheppard moved closer to his work table. "How long have you been down here?"

"Not long," he responded absently, going back to his work. It was bad enough that Carson felt it a personal responsibility to watch over him since he almost overdosed on the Wraith enzyme. He didn't want anyone else close enough to realize he was having problems he couldn't explain. Thankfully, Sheppard didn't pursue it.

"We have to meet with Elizabeth in a half hour. What say we go get a quick breakfast?"

"Maybe later." Rodney fished out a power bar out of the drawer and peeled back the packaging, still intent on the information flashing across the screen.

Sheppard snatched it from his hand, took a bite out of it, and made a face. "Let's go get some real breakfast."

OooOooO

"Thought you guys weren't coming," Ronon said to them once Rodney and Sheppard had gotten their trays and were pulling their chairs out to sit.

"Rodney had to find a stopping point."

Rodney didn't respond. Instead, he concentrated on salting his eggs to disguise their blandness. It didn't seem to matter what galaxy he was in, eggs were still virtually tasteless. As he raised a bite of food to his mouth, he realized he must not have been focusing. Sheppard had said something but obviously he had missed it.

"And you thought all I could do was beat your butt in training," Ronon said.

"I wouldn't go that far," Sheppard responded. "You know what they say."

"No, I don't." Ronon's expression challenged Sheppard, as he bit down on a piece of meat he had speared with his fork. "What do they say?"

Rodney laid down his fork and held up his hand to interrupt, "Please, don't give him 'the bigger they are the harder they fall' spiel."

"I don't have to. You just did." Sheppard grinned at his friend. "Besides, it's true."

"Only if they fall," Ronon reminded him, spreading some Athosian butter on his toast.

Rodney rolled his eyes. Just another day in the life of Sheppard and Captain Caveman.

"Are you all right, Rodney?" Sheppard asked, genuinely concerned.

"Nothing a cup of coffee won't cure."

Sheppard looked up from his own cup. "If that's so, don't you think you should've been cured already?"

"Some days it takes more than others." Rodney didn't wait for another argument. He wanted – no needed – a cup of coffee. He got up and hurried over to the coffee urn.

His hands shaking, Rodney concentrated on placing the cup in position under the spigot and pressed it to release the coffee. Half way through he felt an unwelcome wave of dizziness wash over him. He grabbed the edge of the small table to steady himself.

Sheppard appeared behind him, taking the cup from his hands. Rodney grabbed for the creamer, trying to hide the shakiness he felt. "Thanks, I just needed to… uhm…" His voice trailed off as he tried to put his thoughts into words. It felt as he was a bit intoxicated and the words came a bit slower and somewhat slurred.

"You needed to eat," Sheppard finished for him, grabbing a few extra packets of sugar and poured them into the cup. Then he opened an extra packet and handed it to Rodney. "Here, eat this."

Rodney lifted the sugar to his mouth and the world seemed to tilt and right itself. Black and gray spots appeared before his eyes. At first there were just a few, but within seconds the spots crowded in on him, forcing his world to go black.

A shocked silence fell over the mess. Several people came over to see if they could help. Sheppard instructed one of them to get him a bottle of that sports drink the Daedalous had recently brought to Atlantis. The man turned and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"Rodney! Come on buddy." Sheppard knelt at Rodney's side, suddenly feeling very guilty. He shouldn't have taken the power bar, but it had been the quickest way to get his friend to take a break and eat a real meal. Worried, he reached up and tapped his earpiece. "Carson, this is Sheppard. We have a medical emergency in the mess. I think Rodney's sugar just went south."

"I'm on my way."

"Can I help?" Ronon asked, from Sheppard's side.

Sheppard noted the confusion in Ronon's expression. "Yeah, when he wakes up I need you to help me get him to drink this."

Ronon's eyebrows lifted in a look of disbelief.

"Rodney has a condition," Sheppard explained. It was easy to forget Ronon hadn't been here long enough to experience one of these moments. "If he doesn't eat, he passes out."

"So why didn't he eat?" Ronon pinned him with a questioning look.

Sheppard fought the urge to grin but Rodney's eyes were fluttering open. "Come on. We need to get some sugar down you." He took the open sport drink and held it in Rodney's hand as his friend took a sip from the container.

Carson walked into the door. "Drink, Rodney. Don't sip it like it tea time with your mum. At least if you don't want an IV."

Rodney grumbled. "I see how you are. Can't even see how I am before you're threatening me with weapons."

"Aye, here in this galaxy we all need a weapon. I just prefer needles to a P90. Now drink." The doctor watched while Rodney drained the bottle. Then he pricked the scientist's finger, letting the blood fall onto the stick in the Glucometer. After a few seconds the device emitted a beep, causing Carson to frown. "Hmm."

A look of worry crossed Rodney's face. "Hmm? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that your blood sugar wasn't as low as I expected." Carson glanced over at Sheppard. "Is this all he's had?"

Sheppard nodded. "Yeah, we contacted you soon after he went down."

Carson turned back to the scientist. "When was the last time you had something to eat? Something more than a powerbar."

Rodney shrugged, trying to remember. Lunch yesterday maybe? Another thing he couldn't quite remember.

"That's too long then." Carson sighed and instructed Sheppard, "Makes sure Rodney gets something to eat, preferably something with protein. Then I need to see him in the infirmary."

"Why?"

"I just want to take some blood samples, not put you up for an overnight stay. I don't think the nurses could handle that so soon after last time."

"I can't," Rodney tried.

"He can," said Sheppard firmly.

"I can't. I have a briefing with Elizabeth in-" Rodney glanced at his watch. " – ten minutes."

Carson shot Sheppard a look. Sheppard stepped away to radio her but returned moments later.

"Now you either find your way to the infirmary after you eat or I can have Ronon carry you."

Ronon looked as surprised as Rodney.

"Captain Caveman to the rescue," Rodney grumbled.

Sheppard face broke out into a wide smile. "You used to watch that cartoon too, huh?"

"Canada is not without its shows. Some we even get before the States."

John smirked. "Well, you're in the Pegasus galaxy now, so you know what it feels like to have to wait."

OooOooO

Rodney felt their stares as he dropped into one of the chairs across from his team. He was later than he had intended but Carson had insisted on drawing enough blood out of his system to feed a vampire through an Alaskan winter.

"That was quick," Sheppard noted.

Rodney shrugged. "Yes, well, I think I've logged enough time in there recently. No need to prolong the visit."

Elizabeth folded her hands in front of her on the table. "At least we know why you were acting so odd earlier."

"Odd?" Sheppard raised an eyebrow.

Rodney waved them off, relieved for the moment that Elizabeth felt she had her answers. "Well, shall we get started? In case you haven't noticed, I've lost quite a bit of this morning that I'll never get back." He flipped open his laptop, quickly pulling up the file he needed. His fingers itched to be doing something. Nervous energy flowed through his veins. Under the table, his knee bounced to an unheard rhythm. "Beside, knowing my luck, Klisen and his team will blow something up if I leave them alone too long."

Ronon snorted. "They're not the only ones. You and Sheppard seem to have the same habit."

"Must not be too bad. You joined the team." Sheppard wadded up a piece of paper, leaned back in his chair, and aimed for the wastebasket. "Soon enough, they'll be including you in that statement."

Rodney chose that moment to ignore them. He couldn't believe the amount of energy he suddenly had. Finally. Maybe this signified a turning point in his current state. He had begun to think exhaustion would remain his companion throughout the rest of his life.

"dney?"

He stopped typing and looked up, catching the tail end of his name. "Did you say something?"

Sheppard's eyebrows lifted, giving him a sharp look. "Just how much sugar did they put in your drink?"

Rodney shrugged and then went back to typing. His fingers refused to stay still. "A little, I'm sure."

"I'm sure."

Elizabeth must have been ready to continue. "I understand from intel you received that there is a possibility of a ZPM on Px4-653?"

Sheppard nodded. "We sent out the MALP yesterday. Looks like a lot of ruins near the gate, but most of it's overgrown with vegetation."

They finalized mission plans and were ready to dismiss the meeting when Teyla spoke up. Throughout the meeting, she had been abnormally quiet, even for her.

"What are supplements?"

The room grew suddenly quiet. All eyes focused on Teyla.

"Where did you hear that?" Sheppard asked.

"I overhead some discussion about this supplement. Does Carson now charge for these?"

Sheppard's eyebrows lifted. He leaned forward on the table. Why hadn't he heard any such discussion? "On Earth, many people buy pills that do a variety of things. Most people buy them for energy." He looked pointedly at Rodney who knee was still bouncing underneath the table.

"Maybe that explains why some of the white coats've been asking for lessons," Ronon suggested.

Teyla said, "It is true that many people have suddenly seemed to have acquired a sudden enthusiasm. It has been most odd."

Elizabeth looked up. "Did anyone indicate where they were getting these supplements?"

Teyla shook her head. "No. Although, I only heard a portion of the exchange. After that they were out of hearing distance. I can not even tell you who the men were. It was late and I was out for a walk."

"So they don't know you were there?" Sheppard asked.

"No, I do not believe so."

"How are they getting them?" Rodney scrolled through the screen before him. "I don't see anything on the manifest logs for the Daedalous. And Carson guards that stuff with his life."

"What if it wasn't listed on the logs?" Ronon asked.

Teyla asked, "Could they be coming through the gate?"

"Possibly . But regardless, we need to find out. Everyone knows the rules here clearly state that only medical personnel can provide medication, vitamins, etc. Being in a foreign galaxy we can't afford for anyone to experimenting," Elizabeth said.

Sheppard nodded in agreement. "But if we start having Carson drug testing everyone, we might not find out where it's coming from."

Ronon fingered his blaster. "I could find out."

Sheppard put his hand out. "For now, I think we'll try something a little more subtle."

"We'll have to suspend gate travel," Elizabeth noted. "I can't take any unnecessary risks right now."

"Understood." Sheppard stood and motioned for Teyla. "Feel like taking a walk?"

OooOooO

Just after 0100 hours Rodney came to the realization that he wasn't going to get any sleep. His mind was whirring with thoughts that made no sense.

Maybe a walk on the east pier would clear his head. His imagination had to be running away with him. There was no way he had just seen a wraith in the bathroom doorway.

Yes, that's all he needed: some fresh air. His hand reached up to his chest, willing himself to breathe slower. Maybe all this exercising the other scientists were doing wasn't so bad after all.

The wind from the Lantean sea swirled around him as he stepped outside onto the eastern pier. Rodney slowly walked the long distance to end of the pier and stood watching the waves as they rolled in. It was absolutely fascinating. He wondered why he didn't come out here more often.

Sucking in a deep breath of the cool night air, Rodney couldn't believe how good it felt to breath. With each successive breath he could envision his lungs expanding, deflating. He tilted his head back toward the stars. Yes, he thought, this was the right thing to do. He could probably stay here all night. The stars seemed brighter tonight, as though each one of them had the power to light up the night sky all by itself.

A sound came from behind, causing him to ease around. There against the city wall, blocking the door was a wraith. Had it followed him? He hadn't imagined it? Why hadn't Teyla felt its presence? Why hadn't the city's sensors detected it? Question after question raced through his mind, one after another until they ran together.

His eyes scanned the area. Another one appeared over to the left. There wasn't anywhere to go if he wanted to escape. Suddenly the night air seemed to change from the free flowing oxygen of before to something that clogged his lungs, took up too much room, not let him get more.

Sheppard.

Yes, he needed to alert Sheppard. Tapping his earpiece, he whispered, "Sheppard! Come in."

"Sheppard here." The voice sounded groggy.

Rodney rubbed his eyes. When he lifted his head again the wraith were gone. Suddenly embarrassed he considered ending the connection.

"Who is this?" The colonel's voice now sounded irritated.

"Uhm… never mind," Rodney said finally after several more seconds of silence.

"Rodney?"

"Sorry, I uh… must have activated my omm.. while I was asleep." Oh that was lame, Rodney thought. He was a genius! Couldn't he come up with something better than that?

"Where are you?" John could hear what sounded like the surf in the background. Rodney wasn't sleeping. Concerned, he pushed back the blankets and reached for his clothes.

"I… uh.. . just stepped outside for a minute. Taking a stroll on the east pier."

Something was definitely wrong. He could hear the quick pace of Rodney's breaths. Sure Rodney was known for his panicking during a crisis, but at night? On Atlantis? Too many things just weren't adding up.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a little fresh air. Maybe even a cup of coffee. How about you?" he asked calmly.

As he entered one of the transporters, Sheppard kept up an ongoing conversation with his friend. Rodney's answers seemed stilted, unfocused, but at least his breathing had evened out as they spoke. Still Sheppard was worried. Very worried.

"Wraith," Rodney's voice, no more than a strangled whispered, burst through his omm..

"Rodney's what going on?" Sheppard quickened his pace. "Are there wraith out there?"

Rodney didn't answer.

Sheppard commanded, "Control, I'm on my way to the east pier. I may need backup. Possible wraith sighting."

He ran through the door, stopping short at the sight before him. John crossed his arms as the cool wind raised goose bumps on the exposed skin. There at the end of the pier stood his friend, staring out into the ocean. Rodney, arms straight at his sides, seemed to not notice the cool night air or the fine mist blowing onto him from the waves below.

"Rodney?"

Rodney jerked around at the sound. He stumbled and then reached out, as though searching for something to steady himself.

Sheppard sprinted down the pier, watching helplessly as Rodney fell. He skidded to a stop, a spray of water met him where Rodney had stood only seconds before.

"Rodney!" he shouted, but his friend had already disappeared beneath the water. He keyed his mike. "This is Sheppard! We have an emergency on the east pier. Man in the water. I repeat, man in the water." He didn't wait for a response. Ripping off his boots and radio, he dove into the water.

--TBC--


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__**Just want to thank everyone for the comments. I appreciate your reading and hope you find the rest as enjoyable. Let me know what you think… Thanks!!! g **__**meli**_

OooOooO

_**Part 2**_

Rodney felt the water closing in around him. As he sank into the depths, he felt as if his lungs were about to explode. A sense of vertigo threatened to overwhelm him. Which way was up? He opened his eyes but there was nothing to see in the dark waters.

His lungs burned, aching for even the smallest amount of air. Panic seized all rational thought.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt something snake under his arm and around his neck. Instinct told him to fight. He tried to wrench free, his movements made ineffectual by the water and the lack of oxygen, but it refused to let go.

Finally, he could no longer hold his breath. In one last moment of consciousness, Rodney prayed for rescue.

OooOooO

Rodney came to, coughing. Someone rolled him onto his side, letting the rest of the water spew out of his lungs.

"It's all right, Rodney," Carson's soft brogue sounded from behind him. His fingers encircled Rodney's wrist, pressing on the pulse point. The doctor pulled Rodney back onto his back and then pried open an eyelid to shine a light into his eyes.

Rodney swatted at it. Through chattering teeth he said, "C-c-could you not do that?"

"I'll do that and more," the doctor replied. Was that anger in his eyes? "Your little midnight swim just earned you a night in the infirmary."

Rodney fingers clenched the blanket that was draped over his shivering form. "No. Practice all the voodoo on Sheppard you w-w-want, but I'm going to get a h-h-hot shower and go t-t-to bed."

Even as he spoke, Rodney felt himself being lifted and placed on the gurney. Straps came into sight, coming across the gurney, attempting to secure him.

"No!" Rodney bucked, tried to move. Like an animal caught in a trap, Rodney fought. They couldn't do this. He just fell in the water. He was fine, right?

"Hold still, Rodney," Carson bent down to his ear, speaking in soft tones, while medics fastened the upper straps.

Rodney kicked with his feet, feeling it come in contact with something or someone. "Let me go!"

"Get his feet. I'll give him Benzodiazepine as soon we get him in the infirmary. That should calm him down." Carson walked in step with the gurney until they arrived at the infirmary. There, his nurse handed him a prepared syringe.

Rodney shrank back. "No. You think drugs are the answer to everything. Stay away from me."

"I should ask you the same thing." Carson approached him with gloved hands and searched for a vein before injecting the syringe contents into Rodney. "There, that should calm you down."

Slowly, Rodney felt his heartbeat begin to slow, his breathing become easier with the additional help of a nasal cannula. He felt the distinctive prick of an IV on the back of his hand, watched as they hung a bag of saline solution to run through it. A nurse attached a pulse oxymeter to his index finger, while another wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his upper arm.

"There. Now I think we can loosen these and get him a little more comfortable," Carson said. "Dawn, I want his blood drawn stat."

Blood? Rodney grimaced. That's all Carson ever wanted from him anymore.

"I want the toxicology report on my desk as soon as it's finished."

"Yes, Doctor Beckett."

OooOooO

Carson watched his respirations, counting. Satisfied that all his vitals were within acceptable parameters, the doctor went back to Rodney's chart. The final report was in from his blood work the day before. He read through it once more, not wanting to accept what it said.

"How is he?" Colonel Sheppard asked as he hurried into the infirmary, dressed now in dry clothing. Elizabeth walked in right after him.

Carson sighed, made one final notation on Rodney's chart and then placed it back in its holder at the end of the bed. Both of them looked at him expectantly. He took a deep breath and let it out, dreading the answers he had to give them.

"He's fine," he assured them as he searched for the right words. How much did he want to tell them at 0300 hours?

"But?" Elizabeth crossed her arms. She knew him too well.

"I'm concerned about some of his blood tests." Carson glanced back at Rodney, saw the clenching of the fist and knew he was still awake. He motioned for them to follow him far enough away that Rodney couldn't overhear him. "Rodney's blood contained levels of a hallucinogen not unlike Earth's –"

"You mean I just had to fish my friend from a midnight swim because he was on some sort of drug induced trip?" Sheppard's voice rose up a notch.

"I won't be entirely sure until Rodney can tell us, but aye, all evidence indicates it is." Carson paused, dreading revealing the results on the other piece of paper. "I'm afraid that's not all. Yesterday, when I had Rodney come in to do some blood tests to make sure he was all right, we discovered traces of two other substances."

"More of this?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, it appeared to be a depressant. The only reasonable explanation I can figure is that maybe he was self-medicating in order to get some sleep."

Sheppard snorted. "When is Rodney ever worried about getting enough sleep?"

"The other seems to be some sort of amphetamine. It would have caused him to experience very high levels of energy." Carson caught the look exchanged between the two leaders. He sighed. "I take it you've noticed something."

Elizabeth stood stiffly, her lips pressed tightly together. "There's been some recent discussion about why we don't allow our people to self-medicate themselves in a foreign galaxy."

"Aye, I agree. The bottom line is there is nothing else that can account for these levels in his bloodstream except drugs."

Sheppard glanced in the direction of Rodney's bed. "So, is he going to be all right?"

"Aye. I plan to keep him overnight at least and run some more blood tests to be sure. Beyond that, I'm afraid there's little reason to keep him here. I'm given him a dose of Benzodiazepine to calm him down. Hopefully, it'll help him ride through this a little easier. I'll sit with him for awhile and have one of the –"

"I'll stay with him," Sheppard said firmly.

Carson nodded. "I kind of figured that might be the case. I had the nurse prepare another bed so you get some rest while you wait. If Ronon and Teyla had been up, I would fully have expected to pull in chairs as well."

Sheppard opted for a chair as soon as Carson and Elizabeth left. He leaned back and watched his friend. How could this have happened? Ronon and Teyla had been addicted to the same enzyme. But it hadn't been the same. Even Carson had told them that they had no idea what kind of long term effects Rodney might have for his 'karate chop dose' as Rodney called it. While searching for him, Teyla, and Ronon, Carson said Rodney had been running on adrenaline and coffee.

Sheppard let his head fall back against the chair, while his eyes slid shut. He might as well get a little sleep. Tomorrow he planned to have a long talk with Rodney. A very long talk.

OooOooO

Taking a seat opposite of Elizabeth, Rodney prepared for the worst. Already that morning, Sheppard had confronted him. Tried to talk to him. Begged him to admit to his 'problem'. Told Rodney that he understood. It hadn't taken long before Rodney quit trying to defend himself. Long before their 'chat' had even begun, Sheppard had already made up his mind.

The worst of it was that he really had no defense. At least not one that held even the slightest bit of credence. What did they expect him to do? Admit that his memory had left him on more than one occasions? He wondered how many appointments that would get him with Heightmeyer. No, the best thing to do was to keep quiet until he could figure out what was going on.

Unless of course, he was going crazy. Rodney pushed that thought to the back of his mind and focused on what Elizabeth was saying.

"Can you explain what happened last night?"

"Elizabeth, I'm telling you I don't know what happened." Rodney tried to explain after she shut the door to her office. "I couldn't sleep and went for a walk. The next thing I know I tripped and found myself in the water."

"Carson said you were taking a hallucinogen," she accused, leveling him with her gaze.

"I am not taking drugs. Just because I made a rash decision one time to help my teammates does not mean that I am an addict."

"Blood tests indicate otherwise. We also found this in your bedroom." She fished a bag out of the drawer of her desk. Inside the bag there was a variety of pills.

"I don't know what's going on, but those are not mine." He jabbed his index finger at the bag, leaning forward. "Elizabeth, you know me better than that. I spend more time in the infirmary than most. Don't you think Carson would have noticed something before now?"

"That was before you took the enzyme. And we know how it can change people." She gave him a pointed look and he knew she was thinking of Ford. "No, until you can prove to me that you have this problem under control, I am relieving you of duty."

"What?" This was ridiculous! Sure he'd taken a huge dose of the enzyme, but that didn't make him some drug addict. He tried once more, "Think about what you're doing. Without someone to watch over them, one of the scientists would probably blow up half of Atlantis."

"And Zelenka isn't capable of watching them?" She held up a hand, holding back his response. "And remember before you answer: you trained him."

Rodney stared out the clear glass outer walls of her office. This couldn't be happening. But it was. "He's more than capable."

"Good. Then I'll let him know. In the meantime, I want you to follow up with Dr. Beckett and make an appointment with Dr. Heightmeyer."

"But…" His voice trailed off. How could he tell her he didn't want to see Heightmeyer. There was no way the psychologist would understand what was going on in his mind. She'd probably sent him off to a padded room. Sighing, Rodney nodded. "Is that all?"

"For now."

OooOooO

With a silent, determined stride Ronon made his way to the end of the pier where they had told him Rodney had fallen in. After breakfast Dr. Weir had called a special briefing and explained the situation. Something didn't sit right with him and he wasn't sure why.

There were few people on the pier as he stepped out the door. He spoke to no one. Reaching the end of the pier, he stared out toward the sea and then turned and faced the city walls, thinking, hoping something would give him a clue. He tried to imagine what Rodney must have been doing that caused him to fall in the water. Could it have been just the drugs?

Ronon stepped backwards. His foot slid on something and he had to twist in the open air in an effort to stop his impending fall. _Oof_. Ronon landed on the pier with all the grace of a wild marmot.

"Are you all right?" One of the marines who had been patrolling the area rushed over to help.

Ronon speared him with a look. The marine instinctively backed up, allowing Ronon a wide berth to get to his feet on his own.

Kneeling down on the pier, Ronon let his hand slide along the outer part that met with the sea. He rubbed his fingers together, letting the greasy substance speak for itself. And right now, it spoke volumes.

_**TBC**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Sheppard and Teyla left yet another member of Atlantis' personnel with no more information than they had arrived with. Either they didn't know or they weren't admitting to knowing anything about the supposed supplements. "I'm beginning to think we're on a snipe hunt."

"And that would be?" Teyla tilted her head up with interest.

"Where I'm from –"

"McKay's telling the truth," Ronon announced as he caught up with them.

Sheppard looked up. If anyone could track down evidence it would be Ronon. His years as a runner had taught him to be aware of his surroundings where others would miss it.

A glance at his left revealed one of the science staff lingering in the hall way. Curious. In fact it seemed they had seen the same man two corridors back. "Let's take a walk."

"Fine. I know a place." Ronon took the lead while Sheppard and Teyla fell into step behind him.

The memory of the previous night hit him as soon as they exited the doors onto the pier. Funny how much different it looked in the morning. The warm sun – almost too warm – made the thought of a dip in the water actually appealing in contrast with last night's experience.

They followed Ronon till he knelt and rubbed his hand along the edge of the pier. The Satedan looked up, his expression a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Someone's been out here."

"What did you expect to be there?" Sheppard waited as Ronon explained his earlier discovery. The colonel's eyes narrowed in anger by the time Ronon finished. Sheppard's eyes searched the pier, but there was no one on duty at the moment. "And you're sure about what you found?"

Ronon leveled him with his gaze, refusing to answer.

"Lorne, who has pier duty today?" Sheppard spoke into his comm., surprised that he didn't see anyone around.

"Jackson, Sir," Lorne replied. "But he failed to show. We have men searching for him at the moment."

"So, no one's been out here today?"

"No Sir, except for a roaming patrol, who would've been through every hour or so," Lorne replied.

Sheppard nodded and then informed Lorne, "I'll need a list of those on the patrol. And I want to be notified as soon you find Jackson."

"Yes, Sir."

In the meantime, Ronon and Teyla had walked over to one of the outer storage areas. Sheppard jogged over to join them, but stopped when he saw what they held in the hands. All of a sudden, he could hear Rodney's voice, barely able to speak as he panicked.

Teyla's face, contorted in anger, held up one of the Wraith mask's for him to see. "Are these what Rodney saw?"

Sheppard forced himself to stay calm. Someone had to be the voice of reason here and right now he wasn't sure even Teyla could be it. "Probably."

Ronon held the dark fabric of the costume in his clenched fist. "For what purpose?"

"I don't know. But I intend to find out." Sheppard stood with his arms akimbo, trying to think where he had seen the costumes before.

As though reading his thoughts, Teyla asked, "They used these for the performance. But I can not remember who wore each outfit."

Sheppard remembered the variety skits put on by some of the staff. Elizabeth said after all their recent troubles a little comedy would go a long way to relieving some of the stress. She had been right too. But now the humor faded into intrigue and Sheppard refused to allow Rodney to be used as some sort of pawn. No, if someone wanted to play chess then Sheppard would give them a game. And pity the man or men when they lost.

The sound of Ronon's comm. interrupted his thoughts.

"That was Sgt. Meyers. I forgot I had a training session with a couple of your men."

Sheppard nodded. "Go. No need to alert everyone in the city that we think someone set Rodney up."

Teyla spoke up. "Do you think this may have something to do with the supplements?"

"Possibly," Sheppard replied. "Someone's obviously has an agenda. We just need to find out what it is. And right now the less people that know, the better."

OooOooO

Rodney slipped into the small room hidden in the wall near the desalinization tanks. Both Elizabeth and Carson had forbidden him to enter his labs. Probably had watchdogs too, if he didn't know better. At least here there was little chance of interruption.

Settling in front of the ancient console Rodney plugged his own laptop into it, accessing the database. Translating ancient records wouldn't count as work; at least not to him. But he was bored, anxious even, unable to just sit in his room and do nothing. How could they expect him to sit back and relax when he felt as if he were going crazy?

Besides, Rodney thought, lately he been too busy to wonder much about the little hidden room that they'd discovered. But like Sheppard had told him: it'd been a mystery for over ten thousand years, what was a few more?

Opening up one of the lengthy entries, he slowly started working out a translation. But after the first paragraph his focus began to wander. Exasperated, he closed the laptop.

"Okay," he told himself. "What was the last thing you remember?"

He cradled his head in hands and squeezed his eyes shut. Think, he commanded himself.

_"Going for a coffee run.__ Dr. Zelenka, Dr. McKay, can I get you a fresh cup?" Dr. __Klisen__ smiled, congenially._

_"Sure," they both answered in unison, still bent over their reports. _

_It wasn't long after that that he sat up and scrubbed a hand over his face. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion covered him like a blanket, tucked in on the edges. Carson's warning sounded in his mind about that once the adrenaline wore off, he might find himself more tired than he had ever imagined. _

_Not wanting to explain it to Radek, Rodney excused himself, claiming a migraine. _

_The walk to his room was almost a blur. It reminded him of times when you drive from one place to another but really can't recall the trip. _

Rodney searched his emails once more. He had to be missing something. Had he asked Radek to send the email? No, Radek said the email had come from Rodney.

He let his head fall back and studied the texture of the ceiling, as though the answers were somehow etched into it.

"There you are." Sheppard strode casually in the room, followed by Teyla.

"Here I am," Rodney replied, somewhat defensively.

"We thought you might like to know what we have discovered today." Teyla pulled something out of her jacket and handed it to him.

Rodney took it, feeling as if he were accepting a peace offering. Cautiously, he unfolded the gift, recognizing it immediately. "Wraith."

"We believe this may be what you saw last night on the pier." Teyla's soft cadence soothed Rodney's nerves.

Rodney looked at Sheppard, as if to verify the information.

Sheppard dipped his head forward. "I'm sorry, Rodney. I should have trusted you." He paused. "Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to discredit you. You've been drugged, almost drowned, and someone put an elaborate scheme together to make you and everyone else think you were going crazy. Why?"

Rodney's eyes shifted back and forth, a million thoughts rolling through his head. Confusion. Sheppard believed him? Wraith costumes? That was all it was? Attempted murder? "I don't know. It's like certain parts of my memory are gone."

"Rodney." Sheppard drew the word out. "Why didn't you tell someone?"

"Why do you think? I had no proof, no memory, and people were already starting to comment about how my stargate didn't go all the way to the planet."

"One planet short of a galaxy," Sheppard corrected under his breath.

"What did you expect me to do? Hmm?" Rodney glared at him.

"You could've tried."

Rodney's mouth fell open. "Like you wouldn't believed me. Besides even if you had Carson would still have had me under his microscope, convinced that it had something to do with the enzyme. I would still have been pulled off duty till it was all figured it out."

"That's not tr—"

"Oh please. You were so convinced I was on drugs you didn't—"

Teyla came between them, holding up a hand in front of them both. "Enough. I thought we were to find out who is behind this instead of trading childish insults."

Sheppard nodded. "Well then I guess my next question would be who had access to your food and drink?"

"Your coffee, in particular, I would suspect," Teyla added.

Coffee? Rodneys eyes shifted as he thought back. All those coffee runs that Dr. Klisen had volunteered for came to the forefront of his thoughts. Klisen had been so congenial. Too congenial. Rodney remembered wondering if Klisen was schmoozing, but since he had been desperate for coffee he had let it pass.

"Klisen." The words died on his lips as a part of the wall slid open. A wraith stunner appeared. Several shots fired in quick succession.

Pain paralyzing every nerve in his body and then…

Nothing.

**-TBC-**

_**A/N: Sorry this one is slightly shorter. It just fell that way with the breaks. **__**This marks the not quite half-way point. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love reading them. Well… more soon…**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Again, thanks for all the comments. I appreciate hearing what you think. **__**Meli**_

_**Part 4**_

Sheppard groaned, coming to slowly. Sharp needlelike pains shot from his fingertips and up through his arms, an aftereffect of the stunner. As he flexed his hands, he realized they were bound in front of him. A further inspection confirmed his feet were also secured with plastic zip ties.

He stared hard into the darkness, unable to see either of his teammates. "Rodney, Teyla?" he called out.

Nearby groans answered him. Sheppard waited, giving them time to come around. It gave him a chance to gather his thoughts. Klisen had it out for Rodney. That much was obvious given their current dilemma. But why? Sure Rodney ticked more than one person off on any given day. His friend expected a lot from these people but with good reason. Their very lives depended on it more often than not.

He berated himself for not trusting Rodney, for not giving his friend room to explain what had happened. Instead, he had used their 'talk' as a means of venting. He'd already lost one member of his team to drugs; he didn't intend to lose another. But one thought ate at him: As head of the military contingent on Atlantis he expected everyone to trust his actions even when they didn't make sense. So why couldn't he extend that to the other leaders? How many times would Rodney have to prove himself?

"Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla's quiet voice called out.

"I'm here. How are you feeling?"

"I am restrained, a little sore, but otherwise unharmed."

"Well I'm not!" Rodney joined the conversation. "I've been drugged, almost drowned, kicked out of my lab, hit by a wraith stunner, and tied up in a small dark room battling my claustrophobia. Forgive me for saying so, but I'm feeling a little put out right now."

The door slid back as Rodney finished voicing his complaint. Dr. Klisen strode in the room, his raucous laughter echoing off the walls of the room.

Rodney winced, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain caused by the sudden light.

"Feeling put out now, are we?" Klisen approached him, wielding two of the wooden sticks used in training. "Well I would have to say the feeling is mutual."

Rodney ducked as Klisen swung the sticks over his head, slicing the air. Coming around, Klisen cut the air with the sticks, jabbing one toward Rodney's chest but stopping short of contact.

Sheppard called out, "Didn't get enough of your frustrations worked out with Ronon? Pity, you should have told him you needed a real workout. He might not have gone so easy on you."

Klisen turned on his heal to face the colonel. His eyes narrowed, his breathing low and forceful like a bull getting ready to charge. Sheppard watched the chemist as his knuckles tightened around the sticks in his hand. Then, in an instant, as if a metamorphosis was taking place, the fingers loosened. Klisen smiled, the familiar congeniality oozing from him

"I'm glad everyone is waking up. I trust you had a good nap."

Okay, that definitely counted as spooky, Sheppard thought, his eyes never breaking contact with the chemist. "Not as good as the nap you're going to take when I get my hands on you."

Klisen chuckled. "Well, I don't suppose we'll have to worry about that, now will we?"

"I don't know. Will we?" Sheppard let his irritation show now.

Klisen leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms, the sticks still held firmly in his hands. He gave Sheppard a sideways glance. "It seems we're getting ahead of ourselves now, aren't we."

"Are we?" The chemist speared Sheppard with a look, but Sheppard held it, refusing to be intimidated.

Never breaking eye contact with Sheppard, Klisen pushed himself off the wall. "I'm warning you, I'm not in the mood for your games, Sheppard."

Sheppard regarded the chemist standing over him. Klisen seemed unsure. The sticks were probably meant to intimidate him more than anything else. But he couldn't allow that. The start of a plan formed in his head. "And here I thought you pulled us in here for a play date. My mistake."

One slow calculated step at a time Klisen approached him. Silence engulfed the room. Sheppard waited. He'd only have one chance. If he failed he'd probably be begging Carson for drugs or worse.

Come on, he ordered Klisen in his mind. One more step.

There.

Sheppard swung his bound feet around and into Klisen's lower legs. The chemist staggered and lost his grip on one of the sticks. The clang of wood hitting the floor echoed throughout the small room.

Klisen growled, scrambled to try and retrieve his other weapon.

Using the wall for support Sheppard pushed himself to an upright position. In the corner of his eye, he could see both Teyla and Rodney slowly doing the same.

The stick sliced through the air. Sheppard leaned the opposite direction, barely avoiding the strike. Using both his arms, he whipped around throwing all of his weight into it. "Missed!" he exclaimed under his breath as he attempted to regain his balance.

The next swing connected with Klisen's jaw. He heard the 'umph', felt the pain of his balled fist ramming into bone. One more hit and the chemist would be down.

Klisen jerked backwards, whirled around, and caught sight of Teyla advancing on him, the other stick in her hand. "What are you going to do? Try to fight me? You may be good, but there's no way you could win now."

Teyla held the stick out. Sheppard could see the focused determination in her eye. She replied, "Give me an opportunity to fight you and I doubt you shall retain such confidence."

The smile disappeared from Klisen's face. The stick seemed to quiver slightly in his hand. "Perhaps later I'll consider it, but right now we have a more important matter at hand." In one fluid movement he grabbed his sidearm and fired. It sounded as if a bomb had exploded in the room.

Sheppard watched as she fell back and stumbled to the floor. Rodney immediately backed away from Klisen, sitting down. As soon as Klisen's attention turned, Rodney scooted over closer to Teyla, examining her arm the best he could.

When he turned back to Sheppard the chemist's face had morphed into pure rage. The stick sliced through the air once more.

His feet still bound, Sheppard couldn't move fast enough to dodge the blow. Sudden pain in the back of his knees sent him careening to the floor with a heavy thud. He tried to roll out of the way. Too late. The stick slammed into his knee. Sheppard yelled as pain erupted in his knee, radiating up and down his leg. It felt as if his kneecap had been cracked in half. Grasping his knee, Sheppard bent over, clenching his teeth.

"Now, I suggest you don't try anything so foolish again." Klisen's ominous voice barely registered above the pain.

"Sheppard?" Rodney cried out as he watched the scene play out before him. Beside him, he pulled Teyla's jacket down to access the wound. What he wouldn't give for Carson and his voodoo right now. With awkward motions, Rodney maneuvered his bound hands into his pocket. He remembered shoving a napkin in there earlier after finishing his sandwich. It might have a little mustard on it, but it would have to do.

Carefully, Rodney dabbed at her wound. "Looks like a graze," he mumbled. Once he was sure she wouldn't jerk away, Rodney applied more pressure to it and watched as the blood quickly saturated the napkin and began pooling around the edges. Glancing up at Klisen, Rodney ordered. "We need to get her to Carson."

In response, the balding man crossed the room in four strides, reached into one of the cabinets, and tossed Rodney some bandages and gauze.

Since it was the best he might get, Rodney quickly took the proffered items and dressed the wound the best he could. As he wrapped, he kept glancing over at Sheppard. Jaw clenched, Sheppard leaned back against the wall, head tipped back, concentrating on each breath.

"Now, it's time to get down to the brass tacks of why you're here. I need someone to fly the jumper for me." Klisen stared pointedly at Sheppard before shifting his gaze to Rodney. "You will stay here. If your friends complete their task, perhaps I'll let you out."

Rodney tried not to react, but it was hopeless. He tilted his head back, mentally measuring the room and gulped. They couldn't leave him in here. Not here. Bound. No food. No water. How long would he last until he died? Klisen knew he was hypoglycemic. Lowering his head, he made eye contact with the chemist. Of course, Klisen knew. That was his plan all along. He wondered if he planned to keep Sheppard and Teyla alive either.

"Take Rodney and Teyla," Sheppard said through clenched teeth, still gripping his injured knee. "Rodney has the gene. He can fly you wherever you need to go. I'll stay here."

Klisen sneered. "I don't think so. I'm not sure I could put up with his incessant whining. Besides, I'd like to see him save the day in what might become his permanent residence."

"Why are you doing this?" It all seemed so pointless to Rodney. Klisen had everything going for him in Atlantis. The man was the best chemist they had here. As far as gate teams went, Klisen had been one of the first chosen to be on teams after Rodney.

"Dr. Collins." Klisen paused for several minutes. "He was my friend."

Rodney sucked in a quick breath. His eyes slid shut. Since Duranda there hadn't been a night that he hadn't thought of Dr. Collins or the fact he had ordered him to make the adjustment to the containment field. Recorded images of the man's charred body would remain forever etched in his memories. "I'm sorry."

"Now you're sorry?" Klisen asked incredulously as he paced back and forth, his finger still resting lightly on the trigger of his sidearm. "I don't think so."

"I-" Rodney tried.

"You know you could have stopped. Everyone warned you. Even Dr. Zelenka."

"Everything went fine in the simulations. None of that could have been predicted during our first tests. It all happened so fast."

Sheppard glanced up at Klisen. "It wouldn't have mattered. By the time we realized what was happening we couldn't shut it down. It was already too late for Collins."

Klisen stared down at them with what appeared to be a half-crazed expression. He swung his 9mm to face Sheppard. "You weren't any better. You're the military leader of this expedition and yet you weakly allowed Dr. McKay to sway you. Almost died because of it, too.

"A lot of the scientists felt both you and Dr. Weir were too easy on Dr. McKay. Some of us even feel he should have been removed from his position. But no, Dr. McKay suffered no ramifications for his actions other than a dressing down from Dr. Weir that compared to nothing more than a mother scolding her child.

"Who really cared that you not only destroyed 5/6 of a universe but one of our own? No one! All anyone cared about was their weapon. Dr. Collins was disposable. It when I realized we were all disposable. After that, I contacted Melrez and made the decision to take him up on his offer."

"Offer?" Sheppard asked. "What offer?"

"Who's Melrez?" Rodney asked the same time, earning him a scathing glare from Klisen.

"What would you care? Half the time you don't take the time to learn our names? So why would you suddenly be interested in the name of a Pegasus native? Perhaps because he might endanger this city?"

"Look, for what it's worth, I am sorry. I really thought I could make it work. But it was my mistake." Rodney swallowed hard. "And as for him endangering Atlantis, may I remind you that Atlantis is our home? Of course I want to protect it."

"But not those who live here."

Sheppard spoke up. "So why not let Teyla go? She had nothing to do with this. In fact she was on a mission with Ronon at the time."

"It's too late. Like Dr. Collins, she'll be an unfortunate accident." The chemist grinned wryly. "Maybe if she makes it back alive, you won't have another death on your conscious."

"You're insane!" Rodney yelled.

Klisen shrugged. "If I am, you pushed me."

Coming out of her silence, Teyla spoke. "I will stay. If you are to leave Atlantis, you will surely need both Dr. McKay and the colonel."

"No," Klisen replied forcefully. "Like any good team leader, Sheppard won't risk the life of his teammate, unlike Dr. McKay."

Sheppard lifted his head. "And if we refuse?"

"Then you'll die here. And I still get what I want." Klisen said. "I assure you, by then it really won't matter anyway." The chemist turned back to his laptop. Picking up a bottle off the shelf, he checked its contents.

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but unless you care to explain to half of Atlantis why I'm limping through the halls and into a jumper and not expect them to radio Carson, you're going to have to take Rodney." Sheppard smirked.

Klisen growled, but his eyes were searching the shelves lining the room. From Rodney's vantage point, it looked a bit like a pharmacy. Several bottles of different substances sat alongside vials of liquids. Unsure, he watched as the chemist reached for one of the vials. From a drawer, he pulled out a syringe.

"What are you doing?" Rodney's eyes danced around like fireflies in the night. How many times had Klisen drugged him? How many memories had he lost because of it?

"If I have to be stuck with you, I won't have you panicking on me. We all know you're known for it." Klisen slowly drew nearer.

"Then – then it shouldn't be a problem if I do. Everyone will expect it." He scooted as far back as the wall would let him. When Klisen continued to advance on him, Rodney said, "Look, I'll get you where you want to go. No drugs needed."

"Don't," Sheppard commanded. "Rodney will help you. He doesn't need any more drugs in his system. His body tends to over-respond to them."

Klisen ignored the warning, ripped open an alcohol swab, and rubbed it on Rodney's arm. A moment later the chemist injected the contents into his arm. "Give it a minute. It's mild, but it'll keep you calm."

Rodney wanted to protest, but he was already feeling the effects of whatever concoction of drugs Klisen had put in his arm. A few minutes later Rodney felt himself being pulled to his feet and then the ropes were gone. Not far from him, Teyla's hands were also free. Klisen must have injected her too, he thought. She didn't once try to run.

"Either one of you does anything to draw attention and not only will I shoot you both, but you'll be left with no information on what surprises I planted in the computers." Klisen sneered. "Now let's go."

Sluggishly putting one foot in front of the other, Rodney felt a firm push from behind. The floor suddenly rose up to meet him. Klisen muttered something unrecognizable under his breath and hauled Rodney back up on his feet.

"What about Colonel Sheppard?" Teyla asked. Her words too seemed slower, concentrated.

"I told you. He stays."

Hands moving as wildly as his drug induced state would allow, Rodney argued, "He's the real pilot here. You want out? This is the man to do it." They couldn't leave him there.

"Rodney's right," Sheppard said. "I wouldn't want a sober Rodney piloting me, much less a drugged one. You'll be lucky if you make it through the gate."

"It's good to know you have that much confidence in my driving," Rodney said.

"You save the day, I pilot."

"Enough!" Klisen yelled, pointed the stunner and fired. Sheppard's body stiffened and the slid sideways onto the floor. "I said we're leaving him."

Leading the trio, Rodney's mind, scanning much like a computer, tried to come up with something. You're the answer man, genius, smartest man in two galaxies, he reminded himself. Think! Some had even treated him as though he were Superman. But right now he felt like a Superman who had finally met his kryptonite. Somehow he had to get word to someone that Sheppard was trapped in there, hurt. Then he needed to get to the computers, find out what Klisen had done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

"Dr. Weir?" queried the urgent voice on the other end of her comm.

"Yes?"

"Someone's just remotely activated the gate," the voice answered.

"Who's IDC?"

"None. The activation seems to have originated in the jumper bay.

Elizabeth rushed out of her office and down the stairs in time to see one of the puddle jumpers lower itself in front of the gate and then shoot through it. The wormhole shut down as soon as they were clear, but the flurry of activity was only beginning.

"I want a lock on that address and…" Elizabeth started, but was cut short.

"We have the address, ma'am, but it looks like whoever was in that jumper also somehow manually disabled the DHD."

"What? Then re-enable it."

"I'm not sure we can, at least not immediately." Then seeing the unyielding look Dr. Weir gave him, he responded in a clipped voice, "Yes, ma'am."

**OooOooO**

Lorne had just toweled off and was replacing his earpiece when he heard Dr. Weir calling for him.

"Major, have you seen Colonel Sheppard, recently?"

"No, but Ronon had lunch with him," he responded. "Did you need something?"

"I need you to meet me in the control room. We have a situation."

Ronon followed Lorne to the control room. There both he and Lorne listen as Dr. Weir explained what had taken place and that no one could find Sheppard. However, her explanation was cut short by a call on both her and Lorne's comms'.

"The four men we found downed just inside the bay are coming around."

"Are they all right?" Elizabeth asked, concern lacing her voice.

"They seem to be," came the reply. "Dr. Beckett is checking them over as we speak."

Elizabeth nodded. "Good. "Did anyone see anything?" Elizabeth asked.

There is a brief hesitation on the other end. "One of the men just coming around said it was Dr. McKay. They only saw him a split second before he used a wraith stunner on them."

"A wraith stunner?" How would Rodney have gotten those out of the armory without anyone reporting it? "How many were with him?"

"Two others. Teyla and one of the scientists. They thought it was Dr. Klisen, but Woods said he couldn't be sure."

"Have you tried to contact Sheppard?" Lorne asked.

"Yes, Sir. But as of yet no one has been able to locate him."

"Anything else?" asked Elizabeth.

"Not at this time, ma'am," was the respectful reply.

"Thank you." After signing off she turned to the major. "Apparently we're missing some weapons out of the armory."

There was a distinct hesitation in Lorne's voice. "As much I hate to suggest that one of the military may have helped him, the possibility remains."

"Who?"

"Jackson. He didn't report in for his shift. No one's been able to locate him."

"Could he be the one with Rodney and Teyla instead of Klisen."

"But even that doesn't make sense," Lorne said. "It was no secret how much Jackson hated McKay."

"Why?"

Lorne grinned. "Well I doubt there's anyone in Atlantis who hasn't hated Rodney at one time or another, even temporarily."

Elizabeth returned the grin. "True. All right, let me know when you have some more information. I'm going to try and locate Sheppard."

Ronon listened as Lorne and Elizabeth spoke. He crossed his arms. Rodney gunning people down? Teyla with him? And where was Sheppard? He had left Sheppard and Teyla to search for Rodney before his training session with Lorne. And who was ignorant enough to believe that Rodney would have the guts or the desire to gun his own people down?

Sheppard had mentioned something about looking for Rodney in the room near the desalination tanks. He remembered it was one of the places shielded from radio contact. Getting Elizabeth's attention he said, "I have something I need to check out. I'll radio you if I find anything." Ronon didn't wait for a response, but hurried out of the Control, long determined strides carrying him from the room.

He reached the small room within minutes. Nothing. He turned slowly, examining everything. Finally something on the floor against the side wall caught his eye. Gray fabric like the uniforms were made from. He tugged at it, but it didn't give. How had it gotten stuck in the wall? A false wall?

**OooOooO**

On the other side of the wall, Sheppard's eyes fluttered. As the effects of the stunner receded, the headache it left in its wake escalated. But the pain in his head was nothing compared to the rush of pain that radiated from his knee.

He wondered how far Klisen actually got before being stopped. He worried if anyone else had been hurt in the process. But if they had stopped Klisen, why hadn't anyone come to rescue him?

Or had he been stopped?

Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, then had to give himself a minute to allow the increased throbbing in his head to subside. Somehow he had to drag himself over to the sensor and find a way to reach it with his hand. An impossible feat, his body wanted to cry out. But too many lives were at stake, especially if Klisen had loaded something into their computers.

Shifting onto his side, he rolled over onto his stomach, gasping in pain as he did. He clenched his teeth together as he slowly pulled himself forward. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face from a mixture of pain and exertion. But he kept his mind focused by thinking of what he was going to do to Klisen when he got his hands on him.

Finally, he reached the sensor. Using the small tabletop that folded down from the wall as leverage he managed to pull himself up, groaning in pain as he did. The door slid back in a whoosh; the cooler air from outside the room hit him in the face.

Standing before him was a very surprised Ronon who reached out to grab him as his knee gave way.

"Whoa," Ronon caught him and carefully lowered him to the floor. "What happened?"

"Long story. I need to get to a jumper."

"Not before you see the doctor," Ronon told him firmly.

"He took Teyla and Rodney. We have to stop them," Sheppard tried to explain.

"Who took them?"

"Klisen."

Ronon frowned and shook his head. "They're already gone."

"Then we go get them," Sheppard insisted, punctuating every word.

"Can't. At least not yet." Ronon explained, "We can't dial out. Rodney disabled the DHD."

"Then get me to a jumper and I'll wait it out there." Carson would never clear him for gate travel and there was no way he was going to wait this one out in the infirmary.

"The doc'll kill me."

Sheppard put on his fiercest face. "I'll kill you if you don't"

Ronon lifted his eyebrows and stared down at his friend's swollen knee. "You can't even walk."

"Ronon!" he growled in warning.

Ronon bent down and lifted him up.

Embarrassed, Sheppard protested, "I just need someone to lean on, not carry me."

"This is quicker."

"This is embarrassing!"

"At least you weigh less than Rodney." Ronon shrugged. "You'd rather I call the doc?"

**OooOooO**

"Just wrap it," Sheppard told Carson not more than an half an hour later after briefing Elizabeth on everything that had happened.

"Aye, I will, but you've got to let me x-ray it first."

Sheppard was not in the mood to be put off. "That's an order, Carson."

"Since when am I in the military? You may be ranking officer in Atlantis but not in my infirmary," Carson argued. Turning to the silver tray beside the bed, the doctor picked up a prefilled syringe and prepared to inject its contents into the colonel.

"No," Sheppard ordered, the look in his eye daring him to do otherwise.

Carson tried sympathizing with him. "Colonel, I know you have to be in terrible pain."

"Until the other half of my team is rescued I want to remain as lucid as possible."

"And for what purpose? It's not like I'm going to let you accompany them on the rescue mission. In fact, until this is over, I doubt you'll be stepping one foot out of this infirmary." This time Carson was the one who was daring him to challenge his orders.

The colonel remained adamant. "Even so, that's my team out there, and if I can't do anything else I will help oversee their rescue."

"He's right, you know," Ronon spoke from where he stood behind the examination table. "You have to wait and let Sheppard see this though."

Carson sighed, and conceded, "All right, just let me get some x-rays and give you something at least to keep the edge off the pain. You can keep in communication with Dr. Weir and Major Lorne from there."

"Fine, " Sheppard agreed, holding out his hand for the four Ibuprofen Carson gave him. If the truth be told, something for the pain would be most welcome at the moment, no matter how much he denied it.

**OooOooO**

Rodney tightened his grip on the controls. The battle within to remain focused warred continuously with the drug that had been given free rein in his system. Glancing up, he focused on the HUD in front of him, trying to get his bearings. One of the first things Klisen had done was to disable their ability to contact anyone.

In the chair next to him, Teyla sat with her hands tied behind her back. Klisen sat behind her with his 9mm trained on her, the threat evident.

Someone was screaming at him. Teyla?

Rodney jerked up. Had he gone to sleep? One glance out the front screen showed they were in a dive toward the ground. "Oh nononoonono." Rodney's nervous hands grappled for the controls, but he overcorrected. The jumper shot up and flipper over before continuing its downward plunge.

"McKay!" Klisen shouted out from behind him.

"What?" he yelled back at him, his heart pounding beneath his uniform. What did Klisen expect? If the idiot wanted him alert he should have never drugged him. Next to him, he heard Teyla's firm but calm voice.

"Rodney, focus."

Oh that was easy for her to say! Rodney breathing increased to the point of hyperventilation. He tried to control it, but had no more luck doing that than he did the jumper at the moment. The jumper hurtled toward the planet with all the force of a missile. Vibrant bursts of greens, blues and browns appeared as the blurred ground spread its arms wide to catch them.

Once more Rodney yanked on the controls. This time he managed to get the nose up, but the maneuver only minimized the inevitable. Dirt and grass pummeled the front of the jumper as it dug into the earth before finally coming to rest on the edge of an embankment.

**OooOooO**

"How are you feeling?" Ronon asked.

"Fine," Sheppard answered from the infirmary bed, but it was clear he was anything but. There were signs of pain etched into his forehead, but more prevalent were worry and frustration.

Ronon raised an eyebrow in question. "You ready?"

A semi-conspiratorial smile spread across his face as he shifted his good leg off the bed. "I thought you'd never ask."

Ronon glanced around and then handed him a pair of crutches that Carson had set in the corner. "I had to at least let them think you were listening."

Sheppard nodded. "Of course. Now let's get out of here."

**OooOooO**

Rodney was tossed about like a ragdoll when the jumper crashed. A mixture of dust, dirt, and grass blocked any outside view. One by one functions died until the only sound to be heard in the jumper was the human's breathing. As he turned his head to check on Teyla. She was laying on the console, unconscious. Rodney jumped from his seat. "Teyla?"

Nothing.

Feeling for a pulse, he breathed a deep sigh when he felt the steady rhythm of her heart. Behind him, Klisen watched him, like a lion about to attack its prey. Except the lion seemed to be injured. One arm dangled awkwardly at Klisen's side. In the other hand the 9mm remained trained on Rodney.

"You always have to make things more difficult, don't you McKay?" Klisen stood, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Brows furrowed, Rodney pointed to himself. "I wasn't the one who drugged us up and ordered us out on this half-cocked mission."

"But you were the one who is ultimately to blame."

Rodney shook his head in frustration. "You know I don't know what you're problem is. I am sorry Collins died. But we all knew when we began this expedition it would most likely be a one way trip. Since then we've had a lot of close calls and, yes, a lot of people have died."

"But he didn't have to die."

"He died doing his job: working to help us find a way to win the war with the wraith. What all of us are doing – except you."

A light flashed in the corner of his eye. When he turned to find the source he gaped in dismay at what he saw: a wraith transponder.

It lay on its side, the light at it's center blinking steadily.

Rodney face fell. "We are so dead."

**OooOooO**

"Thanks, Ronon," Sheppard told him as they entered the bay.

"No problem."

Although still in a lot of pain, Sheppard managed to hobble toward the pilot's seat. "Carson?" The doctor sat in one of the four seats in the forward compartment, his arms folded across his chest. Sheppard grinned. "You know I couldn't stay."

"I shoulda sedated you when I had the chance," Carson said. "No, when I saw Ronon come back to the infirmary, I couldn't help but be a little suspicious. I figured I had two choices: lose a battle arguing about whether or not your fit to go or go with ye and make sure everyone gets home safe and sound."

Ronon commended the doctor, "Good choice."

"Aye," Carson agreed, checking his medical kit once more. "But be forewarned. When this is over, Colonel, you're my patient again. Actually, I'll not be surprised if your entire team has to be admitted."

Sheppard grinned, though visibly relieved. "Your confidence in our skills is admirable."

Carson humphed. "It's not your skills that have me worried. It's the enemy's abilities to injure you before you eradicate them."

"Everyone ready to go?" Major Lorne asked as he came up the jumper's ramp

Sheppard noticed that Lorne didn't seem surprised either himself or the doctor on the jumper. "Mind if I drive?"

"Go ahead, sir,"

"Can we dial out yet?"

Lorne nodded, "Dr. Zelenka radioed in as I was on my way here and said he got it up and running."

"Got a plan?" Sheppard inquired.

"Actually, I thought I'd take my cue from you and make it up as I go along," Lorne told him, in mock seriousness. But he was already heading back to ready the marines who had assembled in the rear compartment.

Ronon fingered the trigger on his blaster. "I take care of Klisen. Everyone else rescue Rodney and Teyla."

"Not so fast. You're not the only one who wants a piece of this guy. Remember, you're part of a team now. You gotta share." The console came to life in front of him showing the HUD. A sudden silence fell on the occupants of the jumper. Each one aware of the urgency of this mission. Hopefully, Klisen and the hostages had not gated anywhere else and they would find their friends alive. But Rodney was known for pulling something out a hat. They would hope this was another one of those times.

Lorne spoke into his comm. "Flight, this is Jumper three, requesting permission to depart."

Dr. Weir's voice came over the radio in the jumper where all could hear her. "Bring them home, Major."

"Yes, ma'am," Lorne replied solemnly.

"Sheppard and I will be waiting for any news."

Sheppard had the grace to look a bit ashamed and busied himself with the jumper controls. A backwards glance at Carson told him the doctor probably felt only a minimal amount of sympathy for him. Suddenly a healthy dose of drugs when they returned sounded like a welcome relief.

Lorne was still getting parting instructions from Elizabeth. "Yes, ma'am," the major answered again.

"Jumper three, you have a go," she ended.

After Lorne shut off the radio, Sheppard started up the puddle-jumper. "Let's do it."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: First I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing. Second, I need to apologize for taking so long. My dsl modem went out and there was none to be found in town. We had to order and wait for it to come in. Hopefully the next 2 updates will come quicker as we finish out this story. Again, thanks! Meli**_

_**Part 6 of 8**_

"Is this your idea of a suicide mission?" Rodney held up the now active wraith transponder, attempting to mask the panic he felt inside. "You know I've been on one of those ships before and it's an experience I'd rather not repeat."

"I'd rather think of it as a cruise ship vacation I've prepared for you." Klisen smiled in a way that never reached his eyes. "I'm sure they'll love you so much they'll just eat you up."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "And you won't have to get your hands dirty."

"I'm a scientist. I prefer not to kill but rather to study." Klisen motioned with the gun for Rodney to sit back down. "Although if you continue to bother me I might just have to ask Melrez to take care of you instead."

Rodney raised his arms half way and sat down in the seat. "Just who is this Melrez guy anyway?"

"Back when pretty much everyone was offloaded to Manara during the storm, I got to know one of the Genii, Melrez, as well as some of the Manarans. Melrez was one of the guards there. During our stay he and I had many long conversations. Later, on several missions, when we gated off, he often met me. Not long ago he formed his own faction of a mixture of Genii and Manarans and asked for me to join them. But it wasn't until after Doranda that I did more than consider it." Klisen gingerly cradled his injured left arm. "I decided since our leaders didn't seem to have what it took to properly take care of disciplinary matters such as yours, I would bring in some that would."

"Did they forget what happened to they tried to enter Atlantis? Sixty Genii splattered on the inside of a wormhole." Rodney crossed his arms. "At least Koyla had sense enough to wait till we offloaded most of the city."

Klisen sighed and gave him a bemused look. "As usual you underestimate me, Dr. McKay."

"And as usual you don't disappoint me."

Through clenched teeth and narrowed eyes, Klisen voice spat out like venomous darts. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. Just because I don't have the authority doesn't mean I don't know how to effectively execute a coup. We will take Atlantis,"

"Kind of hard to operate anything without the gene."

"Maybe the gene therapy didn't work on me, but that doesn't mean it didn't work on my friends." Klisen paused. "I may not be a doctor but I know how to get a hold of and administer the therapy to others."

"What?" Rodney's eyes widened. "How stupid could you be?! Why didn't you just kill us all while you were at it?"

"Because this was much more fun."

"No wonder Kavanaugh befriended you," Rodney murmured. He glanced over at Teyla. Why didn't she wake up? Her dark skin looked shades too light. She was the fighter, not him. One swipe of her leg and Teyla would have had Klisen disarmed and pleading for mercy. Rodney couldn't imagine getting his leg to do that move, much less with any success. The only legwork Rodney wanted to do was get Teyla and run to somewhere safe till they could figure out a way to contact Atlantis.

He wondered how Sheppard was doing. Had Sheppard been able to free himself and send a rescue party? He hoped so. In the meantime he wondered what Sheppard would do in their situation? Probably talk him down. Well, he was no Sheppard but nor did he have any other options at the moment.

"It sounds like you thought of everything," he placated the chemist.

"You don't know the half of it."

Rodney held up the blinking transponder. "Well it doesn't look like you'll get to throw it in my face if you wait too much longer. You might as well get started."

"Well you've already guessed I was responsible for the supposed supplements."

Knitting his brows together, Rodney asked, "Supposed?"

"Since I'm confessing, yes. They served their purpose."

"And that purpose would be? Hmm?"

"Distraction. And it obviously worked." Klisen chuckled and then explain,"Don't you get it, McKay? We meant for Teyla to overhear that conversation and go to Dr. Weir with it."

"You're insane!"

"You just hate that you're not as smart as they give you credit for," the chemist retorted. "This is one time, McKay, you won't get to save the day. Even if you did get back to Atlantis – and you won't - it's already too late to help them."

Rodney's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Ever heard of the Tuthakian tree on PX3-982?" When Rodney shook his head, Klisen went on. "Melrez introduced it to me. When the leaves are ground, they form a tasteless, odorless powder. Within five to twenty minutes people find themselves disoriented. Within a half hour they are asleep for at least eight to twelve hours. When they awake, they remember nothing. Sound familiar?"

Anger flooded Rodney at Klisen's obvious enjoyment. "I take it I was your lab rat."

"Precisely. I needed the senior staff distracted. I'd say it worked. Now I've put it to more practical application. But you won't have to worry about that. As soon as the Wraith arrive, you'll have enough problems of your own." Klisen reached into his breast pocket, tapped something. "Yes, I'm ready," he spoke. Then the chemist steadied his gun trained on Rodney. "Open the back hatch."

Hands halfway in the air, Rodney shuffled to the back of the jumper and manually lowered the hatch.

A man of giant proportions entered, shoving Rodney back toward the others. "You have it?"

Klisen nodded. "Of course, Melrez. As soon as we activate the GDO and I enter my IDC the computers on Atlantis have been programmed to lower the shields and remain lowered until I enter the ending IDC."

The man gave a low chuckle. "Insurance, Klisen?"

"Would you not do the same?" Klisen met the man's gaze.

"Of course. I've dealt with a lot of traitors in my time. One thing I've learned is if they'll turn on their own people, they'll probably turn on you. That will be your only warning."

Klisen got to his feet, while Melrez motioned for Klisen to precede him off the jumper.

Rodney breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could get to work. He needed to get the radio working and contact Atlantis. Then somehow get the cloak working until he could somehow bring the engines online. Right now he didn't feel like being the main course on tonight's menu.

"Rodney?" Teyla's shaky voice filtered through the jumper.

Before he could answer Teyla another more urgent sound filled his ears: the cocking of a gun. Melrez stood just outsidethe back of the jumper, his gun pointed at Rodney.

"Klisen says you love to save the day. And I can't have that." With that he fired the gun..

**OooOooO**

"Any sign of them yet?" Ronon asked from the seat behind Sheppard.

Sheppard shook his head. They had been scouting the planet for over an hour now to no avail. A dense covering of foliage spanned more than seventy five percent of the planet they had seen so far. "No, not yet. They have to be here. Klisen went to too much trouble to disable the DHD to just hop to another planet."

Lorne glanced over at the colonel. "Think they crashed?"

"Maybe," he conceded.

"He did make Rodney drive." Lorne took over driving for Sheppard.

"That was a mistake," Ronon stated.

Sheppard took a deep breath, rubbing his leg against the pain and stiffness. "I agree. He's never been driving with Rodney during ordinary circumstances, much less when he's drugged up."

"Must've been quite a ride," Carson spoke up from the fourth chair. "I only hope no one's hurt too badly."

"Colonel, someone's reactivated the gate," Lorne informed him.

"I see it. Wraith." Sheppard quickly uncloaked the jumper and located the darts on the HUD. His mind instructed the ship to fire the drones. The first dart exploded like a firework on the fourth of July. The second circled and then dove to avoid the drone.. The drone followed, found its mark. Seconds later, the remaining dart erupted in a ball of flames.

"Hopefully that'll be all of them for now," Lorne said.

Sheppard caught a glimpse of something on the display where the dart went down. He took back the controls and flew the jumper lower. Sitting amongst downed trees and a jungle of vines lay the wrecked jumper. Sheppard called out to everyone behind him. He tried to raise Rodney or Teyla on the radio but no one answered.

"It doesn't look like there's room enough for us to land," Lorne commented.

"I'll make room." Carefully, he maneuvered their jumper into the small clearing. As he set it down he could hear the sound of trees scrapping the outer hull. "Now let's get our people and get out of here."

**OooOooO**

Rodney dove into the jumper, scrambling for the emergency handle. The back hatch rose, but not before one of the bullets caught him in the ankle.

On the jumper floor Rodney clenched his teeth and whimpered. Blood poured from the injury and he pressed both hands on it to staunch the flow. Oh, Carson was so going to love this, he thought pitifully. That is – he would if Rodney managed to contact Atlantis before Klisen and company invaded. And before the wraith found them.

He scooted across the floor and reached for the first aide kit. It crashed to the jumper floor, spilling it contents.

"Let me help you." Teyla had one hand pressed tightly to the side of her head and stood unsteady on her feet. She knelt slowly beside him. She sorted a field dressing out of the jumble on the floor and tied off the wound.

Overhead an explosion rocked the jumper. And then another.

"I sure hope that's the rescue party," Rodney murmured.

Teyla latched onto one of the bench seats and pulled herself to her feet. "Unless there are other occupants of this planet. Perhaps they will find us and be able to offer us assistance."

Another explosion sounded outside, above the jumper. This one closer, as though it had detonated directly over them.

"Did you hear that?" Rodney's eyes danced around. He clenched his hand to keep it from shaking, whether from fear or blood loss he didn't know.

Before Teyla could answer the jumper rocked as something slammed into it. Glass shattered in the front of the jumper with such a force some of the pieces flew through the air like native darts. Several of the small shards caught Teyla in the back as she leaned over to help him.

Rodney felt himself pale as Teyla cried out. He was no doctor. Right now he couldn't even stand. Already the bandaging Teyla had applied had stained red.

As she reached for her back, Teyla fell to her knees. "Rodney, help me."

Three thin shards stuck out of his friend's back. He would have to somehow pull them out without the glass breaking off. Raising fingers that shook like a loose tire on a car, Rodney sucked in a deep breath to prepare himself.

Who was he kidding? He might have several degrees but none of them prepared him for this. Why couldn't he just be a scientist? But the look of pain on Teyla's face forced him to shut out his own pain, his own fears, and find a way to relieve her pain as she had attempted to do for him even though she had to battle her own bout of dizziness to do so.

Another deep breath. "Don't move."

"You can do this, Rodney," she encouraged him, though her own face was covered in a sheen of sweat.

Rodney didn't answer. One more breath. He caught hold of the end of the first shard.

"Rodney, open up!" Lorne's voice came from outside the jumper.

"Oh, thank God." He called out, "Is Carson with you?"

"Yes, if you'll just open the hatch!"

Within seconds Marines swarmed the jumper. Ronon followed close behind with the doctor.

Carson's eyes went from Teyla to Rodney accessing who needed him first.

Rodney made the decision for him. "Take care of Teyla. She was unconscious for most of the time. Then she woke up only to have the glass shatter and lodge itself into her back. Now I can't get the glass out of her back." His words spilled out almost on top of one another.

"Just pull the glass out and then tend to Rodney,," she protested to Carson. "Rodney has suffered a gunshot to his ankle."

Carson gaze went down to Rodney's ankle which had begun to swell. "Aye, but first we need to get these buggers out of your back."

Teyla gave him a tight smile. "Thank you."

As soon as Carson had finished and stitched her up he knelt down by Rodney. "It's a nasty one, Rodney. We need to get you back to Atlantis as soon as possible."

Pain shot up his leg as Carson as the doctor examined the wound. Talk of the city brought more important things to mind. "Fine. We need to go get Sheppard. When we left—"

Ronon interrupted. "He's in the other jumper."

Rodney's eyes widened. "He is? He's okay then?"

"Well he'll still be your roommate in the infirmary if that what yer worried about," Carson said. "But he'll be alright."

Another memory hit him. "Not if I don't get back and see what—"

"Nay, lad, I—"

"Just let me do what I need to do and then I'll gladly come down for treatment."

Carson face colored to an angry red. "Not this time, Rodney. I expect to see all three of you in the infirmary as soon as we get back to Atlantis."

"He's right, Rodney," Lorne put in. "That wound looks pretty bad."

"Look," Rodney yelled, his hand moving to emphasize what he was saying. "As much as I'd like to have some painkillers right now and end up counting Carson's sheep, there is something more important. Klisen uploaded something into Atlantis' mainframe and if you want to have a city to come home to, then I suggest you let me in there and figure out what he, Melrez, and the Genii have been up to."

"Melrez?"

"Genii?"

The questioned repeated itself on almost everyone's lips. Rodney looked around impatiently and waited.

Carson heaved a deep sigh. "Let me at least assess the damage on the other jumper. I'll administer some preliminary treatment. Then we'll see."

Rodney nodded. "Fine."

The transfer to the working jumper went smoothly. Within seconds of getting everyone in, Carson had Rodney's sock off and proceeded to pour antiseptic on the wound.

"Ahhhgg!" Rodney's clenched the both sides of his leg and complained to the doctor, "Isn't there something a little less painful you can do?"

"I could give you something for pain."

"No," he replied abruptly.

Carson frowned. "Then no, I'm afraid there's not."

The remainder of the short trip Rodney endured varying stages of pain. He caught snippets of conversation around him. 'Looks likes it may have fractured his ankle.' 'Bleeding's stopped.' 'His bodies endorphins must be taking the edge off the pain.'

"Rodney?"

When he didn't immediately answer, he felt a blanket being draped across his shoulders. Someone wrapped a blood pressure cuff on his arm and squeezed it full of air. A pin prick on his finger followed by a powerbar being shoved in front of him, followed by a shot of Glucagon being plunged into his arm told him his blood sugar was too low to suit Carson.

It must have been too low, Rodney reasoned, as the confusion dissipated rapidly. He listened as Lorne's voice rose and drifted to where they were sitting.

"What do you mean the shield won't disengage?"

Sheppard activated his comm. "Elizabeth, what's going on?" He stared at the wormhole in front of them.

"We're not sure. Apparently you can dial in but we can't lower the shield."

"Then get Zelenka up there and—"

Elizabeth hesitated. "He's trying, but right now I'm afraid that's not the worst of our problems. Approximately ninety percent of our people are, for lack of a better term, passed out. Dr. Biro is attempting to find a counteragent, but without knowing what it is, progress is slow."

"What do you mean ninety percent?" Sheppard asked. "What happened? We've only been gone for a couple of hours."

"We're not sure just yet." Elizabeth continued to confer with Sheppard. Information filtered to the back of the jumper..

"Tuthakian tree," Rodney murmured and call for Ronon to help him get to one of the four seats in the front. He didn't know how much time they actually had if Klisen had managed to accomplish this much in the last two hours. Grimacing in pain, he forced himself to focus on the problem at hand. "Enter my IDC."

"I've tried. None of them are responding." Sheppard continued to enter in information into the console. "Got any other ideas?"

"Try Klisen's." Rodney wasn't sure what other problems might come from using it, but he could fix almost anything once he could access Atlantis' databases.

Sheppard gave him a confused look, but entered the string of numbers.

Elizabeth's voice came over the comm. almost immediately. "Shields are down. You're clear for entry."


End file.
